Shoestring Living: Healthy summer meals for less

Monday

Jul 26, 2010 at 12:01 AMJul 26, 2010 at 3:16 AM

The hot summer months offer loads of opportunity to save on groceries and eat healthy at the same time. With backyard gardens in full bloom, lots of fruits and veggies in season and on sale and less of a need for heavy comfort-style meals, keeping it light has never been easier. Check out these favorite original recipes from the folks at the food blog Cheap Healthy Good.

Molly Logan Anderson

The hot summer months offer loads of opportunity to save on groceries and eat healthy at the same time. With backyard gardens in full bloom, lots of fruits and veggies in season and on sale and less of a need for heavy comfort-style meals, keeping it light has never been easier. Check out these favorite original recipes from the folks at the food blog Cheap Healthy Good, www.cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com:

1) Preheat your grill.
2) Using a knife, make a long slit along each link of the turkey sausage. Remove sausage from casings. Discard casings.
3) Combine turkey sausage in a large bowl with ground turkey. Using your hands, mix/squish until meats are thoroughly combined.
4) Make your slider patties. They should each be approximately 2 to 3 inches across and 3/4-inch thick, with a light thumb indentation in the middle. Store on wax paper until ready to cook. 5) Place patties over direct heat and grill 4-6 minutes on each side, until outside is a bit browned and inside is cooked through. When finished, let sit for a few minutes.
6) Place patties on buns. Add mozzarella along with a few dabs of your favorite spaghetti sauce.

1) In a blender or food processor, puree water, blueberries, tamarind, and honey for 2–3 minutes.
2) Strain to remove blueberry seeds, and pour into a baking dish or other freezer-friendly container. You only want your juice to be about an inch deep for faster freezing, so make sure your container is big enough.
3) Stick the container in freezer for 1 hour.
4) After 1 hour, scrape the partially frozen blend with a fork, creating ice crystals.
5) Continue to freeze, scraping every half to 1 hour, until a slushy consistency is achieved, about 2 hours, depending on your freezer.
6) Serve with fresh blueberries.

Molly Logan Anderson is a freelance writer who lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her husband, Mike, three kids and black lab. Join Molly on her family’s journey of living a frugal life and making financial freedom their reality.